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The Course Management Thread

I learned to play to a certain number on many holes, not just bomb away. It takes two for me to get to many par 4 greens and three often into par 5's, so I'm very much aware of where I want my layups to be.
 
I've started concentrating on minimizing the effect of misses, especially on approaches. For example, my miss is left. Sometimes only a slight pull; other times a giant hook. Before this year, I would just go at flags based on distance and direction. 145 yds? Grab the 9 and let's go. Now, I try to analyze where the danger areas are, taking my likely miss into account. Maybe that means clubbing up or down, or changing my aim points.

It is quite liberating to play "smart." An example from this morning: approach shot required a significant fade to get around an overhanging tree branch. Initially, I grabbed the club for that distance and was about to hit. Then I remembered that 7 times out of 10, my "fade" goes dead straight (I'm not very good at fades, obviously). If I hit the club I initially grabbed, and it went straight, I end up on the next tee. So I clubbed down, faded it dead straight (shock), landed short of the green - and danger - with only a simple pitch to the green.
 
For me, rarely do I make a big number by hitting into the fairway, then chunking an iron from the fairway, then chunking another iron from the fairway, then chunking a pitch from a great angle, then 3-putting.

That is to say, the game is SO much easier from the short grass. Big numbers for me almost always come from putting myself into bad spots where I don't have the skill to rescue myself. Course management is what keeps the shot that was "almost hit well" landing in a good spot rather than a bad one. If I don't manage the course well and constantly put myself into positions that require a high degree of skill, I'm depending solely on luck to bail me out, and that rarely goes well.
 
Howzat I think there is a difference between safe, aggressive and smart aggressive.

Playing safe is avoiding all trouble

Aggressive is going at the course regardless of trouble

Smart aggressive is taking on the course when you know you got the shot and club in your bag and know you can nail it.

I went from playing aggressive to conservative and now onto smart aggressive. Knowing when to attack and when to play the safe shot is the key to making a good score or preventing a blow up hole.
 
golfinFF said:
Howzat I think there is a difference between safe, aggressive and smart aggressive.

Playing safe is avoiding all trouble

Aggressive is going at the course regardless of trouble

Smart aggressive is taking on the course when you know you got the shot and club in your bag and know you can nail it.

I went from playing aggressive to conservative and now onto smart aggressive. Knowing when to attack and when to play the safe shot is the key to making a good score or preventing a blow up hole.
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I hear what you are saying but I feel dumb as a box of rocks out on the course sometimes. I need to keep it simple and for whatever reason feel like laying up or making the safe play is like giving up the chance to birdie a hole. Kind of like making a swing change, I think I need to go hard the other way to find the right balance.
 
The Course Management Thread

Howzat said:
I hear what you are saying but I feel dumb as a box of rocks out on the course sometimes. I need to keep it simple and for whatever reason feel like laying up or making the safe play is like giving up the chance to birdie a hole. Kind of like making a swing change, I think I need to go hard the other way to find the right balance.
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You may be giving up that birdie chance or even eagle chance but are you taking out the bogie or double from the equation by laying up?

Example 1

short par 5 I'm in a fairway bunker 190 out easy 6i to the green if I'm in the fairway took same club(6i) into the bunker played away from the trouble on the right by aiming just left of the green expecting a fade. I hit the ball dead straight and the ball ended up just off the left side of the green and I chipped it close enough for a gimme birdie.

Example 2 pushed drive right into trees lucky kick back into fairway- pin up front trouble(water) left took one club short and made the up and down for par

Example 3 short dogleg par 4 I had been striping driver so I took the aggressive aggressive line with driver that would have put me in half wedge yardage. Pushed driver right carried the dogleg put ball into lateral hazard, drop take aggressive line and I put it into hazard ended up taking a 10-- 3wd hybo or 4i would have been plenty to get me in position to take the green in two with a decent short to mid iron

Example 1 smart aggressive

Example 2 smart

Example 3 aggressive
 
My form of course management gears more towards bag management. Right now I have been having issues hit my 2-4hy off the deck accurately so I force myself to go no higher than my 5 on the grass regardless of lie until I work things out. Also if the ball is in thick rough I don't go higher than my 7i and get it back out into the fairway. I'll play whatever club is proper for the tee but will be quicker to go to the hybrids off the tee if the shot doesn't sit right with me on the tee box. My goal is to get it to 80y, where I can take a reliable 3/4 swing with my C wedge and feel good about my chances of only needing 1-2 more strokes to finish off the hole.

I'm more worried about getting doubles and triples off my scorecard than adding birdies right now. I think that will give me the best chances to beat my PBs of 41/85.
 
This is exactly what I am doing as well with my approach shots. I moving up one club up at a time until I fell comfortable with that club. I also looked at the 588 7 wood which I am hitting well at the range and will start playing in rounds here soon most likely.
rbarthle17 said:
My form of course management gears more towards bag management. Right now I have been having issues hit my 2-4hy off the deck accurately so I force myself to go no higher than my 5 on the grass regardless of lie until I work things out. Also if the ball is in thick rough I don't go higher than my 7i and get it back out into the fairway. I'll play whatever club is proper for the tee but will be quicker to go to the hybrids off the tee if the shot doesn't sit right with me on the tee box. My goal is to get it to 80y, where I can take a reliable 3/4 swing with my C wedge and feel good about my chances of only needing 1-2 more strokes to finish off the hole.

I'm more worried about getting doubles and triples off my scorecard than adding birdies right now. I think that will give me the best chances to beat my PBs of 41/85.
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Orange Hog said:
I recently tested the "boring" course management approach against a more aggressive approach - both on the same course but different 9 hole rounds. In the "safe" round my strategy was this - stick to my 3 Wood and 3 Hybrid off the tee box, hit every single fairway, take my approach to the middle of the green, and two putted home. Ultimately shot +3 in that round. When I went more aggressive - hitting driver and going for the pin every hole - I ended up shooting +9 because I was way less accurate off the tee and ended up putting myself in a bad spot around the green due to tight pin locations.

I'm going safe and I think it will be a rare case to find the driver in my bag going forward. Keeping the ball in front of me and just focusing on hitting the green and not worrying so much about the pin has taken off a lot of pressure and I'm seeing myself play better golf because of it.
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6 strokes over 9 holes is pretty dramatic. Thanks for the info.
 
I have been trying to play more strategically this year. The past two rounds though, I run into trouble.

eg: I pull 4 iron, wanting to hit a tight fairway. Mishit it, top it, and then I am in serious trouble.

It is more an execution thing right now than anything. Really trying to concentrate on the strategy, and I think I am too concerned, and end up with poorly struck shots.
 
I have made massive strides in this area recently and I think I have the new AP1s to thank for it. They have given me a nice distance boost that enables me to lay up off the tee with confidence. 170 out used to be a hope and a prayer 5i for me, now its a 7i and much easier to stomach and execute.

Today I hit a 4i on a par 4 that I always pound driver on, result was a safe shot to the fairway which didn't have the length to reach any trouble.

I think an added benefit for me is that I'm not so dependant on my driver to have a decent round. I've often said to the THPers that I play with that as my driver goes, so goes my score. I hate that because some days its tough to get off the tee and I had no alternative.

I love what I've seen by improving my course management and plan to continue getting better and better at it.
 
My idea of course management is finding where I want to play my second shot then hitting the club to get me to that distance.
 
My course management went downhill today as I got tired and tried to force shots. I should have laid up to a manageable distance 3 times instead of going for you green. The result - 2 doubles and a bogey. Play smart golf!
 
Course management for me is dependent on the course, weather and how I'm hitting it that day but I do have some basic CM tenets that I use when I play:

1. The 400 yard rule - if a hole is 400 yds or less I will generally take a 3-wood or hybrid from the tee. As those holes normally have more trouble in my driver range, this allows me to hit the fairway and still be around 150 to the hole.

2. Hit to the middle of the green - Any shot into the green from over 120 yards I will hit to the middle, adding +/- 5-10 yards depending on depth of the flag. On the holes with left and right pin placements, that will usually leave me with a 20-30 ft putt for birdie and a better than good chance for par. On the holes with middle pins I have a better chance at birdie and an excellent shot at par. (just started doing this in 2014 and it has made my rounds so much more consistent, I was always a pin chaser.)

3. If I have a shot that brings out the Tin Cup in me I will ask myself "what would a smart golfer do?" This way I'm at least weighing my options instead of always going with the aggressive/fun/hero shot.

4. And this goes against most of the posts I've seen here ... I want to get as close to the green as possible on par 5's when there is no discernible hazard near the green (and bunkers don't count)
 
So I kept the driver in the bag for my last round. I basically used my 5w or 3h off each tee. I did hit more fairways and greens which was great. I also put myself in spots on the course I do not normally see which will also help in the long run. I ended up with 40 putts however and carded triples on a couple of par 5's. I only got up and down to save par once. What was the result? Bogey golf similar to where my score has been. I learned a ton and think this type of approach will help going forward. Take the triples off the card an get up a down a few more times and the score would have been really solid.

The other issue I has was pulling my club based of the distance to the pin. I really need to make sure I focus on the best part of the green to land in order to 2 putt at worst. I three jacked a few holes where I left myself impossible putts. Taking a club less in those situations would have saved my several strokes.
 
I can keep course management up for at least the front 9. I've carded a lot of 38's because of this.

I don't think course management means being conservative, I just think it means considering the outcome and choosing the best probable result you have.

There are a lot of times hitting the driver over trouble is by far the best choice. I learned this from hitting conservative irons off the tee and ending up in trouble that wouldn't have been there if I just took out driver.

Center of the green isn't always the best option either. There has bee times where hitting long over the green was the safer miss than dead center of the green. Or even short of green.
 
Course Management... alternately spelled D I S C I P L I N E, a golfing necessity I still lack. Particularly today as I tired in the 95 degree heat and tried forcing shots. Course Management and discipline went out the window.
 
Course Management in my books is taking the big number out of play. I try to play to minimize problems from hazards, get to controllable yardages and stay out of the woods.
If I know the course well enough I try to play from the easy level places as much as possible as well.
 
For the 9 I played yesterday, my management was very solid till the last hole. Poor choice of club of the tee resulted in a double. Dumb dumb dumb.
 
Howzat said:
So I kept the driver in the bag for my last round. I basically used my 5w or 3h off each tee. I did hit more fairways and greens which was great. I also put myself in spots on the course I do not normally see which will also help in the long run. I ended up with 40 putts however and carded triples on a couple of par 5's. I only got up and down to save par once. What was the result? Bogey golf similar to where my score has been. I learned a ton and think this type of approach will help going forward. Take the triples off the card an get up a down a few more times and the score would have been really solid.

The other issue I has was pulling my club based of the distance to the pin. I really need to make sure I focus on the best part of the green to land in order to 2 putt at worst. I three jacked a few holes where I left myself impossible putts. Taking a club less in those situations would have saved my several strokes.
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Sometime it's just tough to put it all together and get the bag management and course management on the same page, I struggle with it too and it gets frustrating. Lately I just don't feel like I've been managing anything well, kind of a get up and hit it mentality rather than thinking my way around, it's certainly costing strokes.
 
Course management, at its very core, is a simple EV calculation. However, accuratley gauging your percentages of hitting certain shots and the likelyhood of scores that will result can be extremely difficult without a bevy of statistics. Most of the rules of thumb espoused here are ways the average golfer can estimate that caclulation. That said, there is such a thing as being too conservative and taking the big number out of play may not be optimal over the long term. If a low number is likely enough and the odds that I can pull a shot off are good enough, it is worth the risk, even if I occasionally miss badly and make quad. What you're playing for, format, and how the round is going factor in too, of course, but the person who said course management doesn't always mean being conservative is dead on.
 
Course management is about playing to your strengths. It's not about leaving clubs in the bag but play smart with the clubs you have. You have to play to what works for you not what works for some else.

If you hit the driver well, keep swinging it. If it puts you in trouble then punch out and regroup.

If length isn't your friend then leaving the driver isn't an option. If the driver gets you in trouble then move up a set of tees and use your 3W. Good course mangement starts on the first tee.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Course management is about playing to your strengths. It's not about leaving clubs in the bag but play smart with the clubs you have. You have to play to what works for you not what works for some else.

If you hit the driver well, keep swinging it. If it puts you in trouble then punch out and regroup.

If length isn't your friend then leaving the driver isn't an option. If the driver gets you in trouble then move up a set of tees and use your 3W. Good course mangement starts on the first tee.
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I was just coming in here to say the bolded after reading the last few pages.
 
After reading through this thread, the majority of posts are about driver usage and when to/when not to use one.

I was shocked that I didn't read anyone mention "Red light / Green light / Yellow light" greens and what they mean - this is a tactic I have implemented this season and it has definitely helped me.

Essentially what this means is that when faced with a "Red light" pin placement - i.e. bunker right in front of the green with an up front pin, play to the "fatter / open" side instead of risking hitting into the bunker.

With a "Yellow light" pin placement this is typically when a pin is favoring one side or the back / front of the green - just aim for the center to play safe.

With a "Green light" pin placement this is when the pin is in the center of the green with almost equal space on either side - take dead aim at the pin and let it fly.

I typically have found that you can find 6 of each type of "light" on a course

Article summarizing the point: http://theaposition.com/jamesamcafe...playing-for-center-of-green-can-pay-dividends

Hope this helps! It definitely has helped me to play smarter with my approaches.
 
Howzat said:
The other issue I has was pulling my club based of the distance to the pin. I really need to make sure I focus on the best part of the green to land in order to 2 putt at worst. I three jacked a few holes where I left myself impossible putts. Taking a club less in those situations would have saved my several strokes.
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This can be one of the pitfalls of a laser rangefinder...too much focus on the pin itself. The courses that I frequent the most I know exactly which areas on each green to avoid like the plague and I'm sure it saves a few strokes a round.


Tadashi70 said:
Course management is about playing to your strengths. It's not about leaving clubs in the bag but play smart with the clubs you have. You have to play to what works for you not what works for some else.
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I don't know that I've ever read it put any better than this. Sometimes it seems like course management simply means playing to a number and not pulling driver, which may be true for some, but not all.

For me course management is simply picking clubs that take as many hazards out of play as possible, and knowing my weaknesses so I don't fall into a trap.
 
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